A Very Neville and Luna Story
by Hug-The-Antihero
Summary: Neville and Luna. Hardly a "star-crossed lovers" Romeo-and-Juliet style romance, yet no less beautiful or touching. My clumsy attempt at charting their relationship - because it should have been written in the stars. It's incredible.
1. The First Year

Happy birthday BlackKitt! Hope you have a great day.

Disclaimer: I only own my laptop and several battered copies of the Harry Potter books, I certainly didn't write them.

A/N: My first attempt at Nuna, this is a birthday fic for BlackKitt, who is an incredible friend and beta reader. If you're into Yu-Gi-Oh!, you should read her stories. I hope you like my story as much as I enjoy hers!

xxx

It was the first day of Neville Longbottom's second year at Hogwarts, and he was late. Punctuality had never been his strong suit, but this time, it wasn't his fault. Sort of. With all the excitement of Harry and Ron arriving at Hogwarts in a flying car, they had stayed up late talking about the eventful evening, and Neville had overslept. He had feebly suggested they went to sleep at some stage the previous evening, but he said it with so little conviction that nobody paid him any attention, and they talked well into the night.

When Neville woke up, he was the only person left in the dormitory, and he hurriedly dressed and ran down the stairs. He was too late to grab some breakfast before his first class, which meant that he didn't have his timetable yet either. He didn't know where he was supposed to be, but he knew he didn't have long to get there. If he was lucky, he would be on time, but that also depended on which classroom he was meant to be in. Neville groaned. He decided that getting to the Great Hall as quickly as he could was the best thing to do – hopefully there would be some Gryffindors there that would know where the second years were supposed to be.

Neville was halfway along the Charms corridor when he heard a squeaky voice pleading for help. It sounded like it was coming from a tapestry. He was very confused, as it was usually only the portraits that talked, not the tapestries, until he remembered that this particular tapestry was a shortcut to the fifth floor. Neville pulled the cloth aside and saw a small girl – so small she must have been a first year. She has a Ravenclaw tie looped around her neck, and her hair was a mess of wispy blonde strands, forming a sort of halo around her face and upper torso. Her leg was stuck in a trick step, and she couldn't free herself. She gasped with relief at the sight of Neville, and looked at him imploringly through big, pale silver eyes.

"Please, could you help me? I'm meant to be going to History of Magic and then this step captured my foot. I think it's a nest for pink-haired unipeds, their fur is unusual, and they are often hunted by cats or kneazles, so they camouflage their nests for protection. I do hope they don't eat my shoe."

Neville was flabbergasted, and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Why would they eat your shoe and not your foot?"

"They're vegetarian, you see. Actually I don't think you do, they're invisible," She smiled and stretched out a hand. "Will you help me, please?"

Neville shook his head, as though clearing water from his ears. He felt distinctly dazed. He reached out his slightly pudgy hands, and grasped her delicate wrists. He planted his feet firmly on the floor and tugged on her wrists. After a few seconds of watching her ankle slowly slide out of the stone, which behaved much like quicksand, and seemed reluctant to relinquish its grip on her, her foot was free. She beamed, and began admiring her shoe.

"Look at that! Do you know, I think those are teeth marks! Oh I can't wait to write to my father about this, he's been looking for proof of the pink-haired unipeds for months. My name is Luna Lovegood, what are you called?"

She took in Neville for the first time, as though checking to see if he too was a previously undiscovered species.

"Neville Longbottom." He timidly extended his hand again and she shook it.

"Thank you Neville. What an exciting first morning at Hogwarts! Now I'd best go to History of Magic, I don't want to be too late. I know Professor Binns is _late _but I don't suppose that means I should be too." She giggled at her joke and Neville stared at her, lost for words.

"What's your first lesson? I hope I've not made you late too."

"Erm, I don't know" Neville mumbled. "I was late and I don't have my timetable yet. I'm a second year Gryffindor, I don't suppose you know where my lesson is?" He looked hopefully at Luna, who twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she thought.

"Herbology, I think. I overheard the ginger boy who flew a car here talking about it."

Neville grinned at her gratefully.

"Thank you, and watch out for other trick st- uh, nests around Hogwarts. A few other steps will trap your feet too. I should know, I fall into them a lot."

Neville stared at his shoes in embarrassment as he finished the sentence. Luna looked at his shoes with excitement.

"Have you ever had your shoes eaten? Have you seen one of them?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so. I've never really checked my shoes for bite marks before."

He smiled at how odd the sentence was.

"It was nice to meet you Luna, now I've got to go to Herbology before I'm late." He waved, turned around, and tripped over his feet as he broke into a jog. Saving himself before he fell, he stumbled away from Luna and towards Herbology.

"Watch out for the green-haired unipeds too! They're more violent than their pink cousins!" She called after him as he left, and he couldn't help but smile to himself.

_What a strange girl. _Neville was no expert, but he was pretty sure that there was no such thing as pink, or green haired unipeds. As he jogged across the front lawn, he saw Harry standing outside the greenhouse, talking to the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He felt a wave of relief sweep over him, at least he wasn't the only one to be late. He slipped inside the greenhouse just after Harry, deciding to ask Hermione about pink-haired unipeds.


	2. The Second Year

Neville sat down in the library with a sigh. He was bored. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and all the third years had gone to enjoy the spring weather and explore the town. Professor McGonagall had banned him from Hogsmeade trips for the rest of the year, and so he was stuck at school. He had gone to the library with the intention of getting started on his homework, but now he was there, he couldn't be bothered to write any of his essays.

He was so embarrassed. Neville still couldn't quite believe that he had inadvertently helped Sirius Black enter the castle. Hearing Professor McGonagall shouting at him had been awful and he was sure he'd be ashamed of himself until he left Hogwarts. As badly as Neville wanted to go to Hogsmeade, he felt that Professor McGonagall had been very lenient with his punishment, all things considered, and he was mostly grateful that no house points had been taken from Gryffindor.

When he'd finished breakfast that morning Neville had tried to find Harry, knowing that he couldn't go to Hogsmeade either, but Harry had seemed distracted and reluctant to spend any time with him. Neville couldn't say he was surprised, nobody had wanted to spend any time with him after he let Sirius Black into Gryffindor. Neville supposed Harry had more reason than most to dislike him for that, and hoped that he'd forgive him, or at least be friends again after enough time had passed. Neville sighed again.

"What's the matter, Neville Longbottom?" Luna Lovegood sat gracefully beside Neville and set her books out on the table.

"You look ever so glum," she frowned at him.

He smiled weakly. "I'm fine, it's nothing, really."

"Are you upset because you're not at Hogsmeade?" Luna watched Neville closely. She had something that resembled a large lettuce leaf in her hair, tucked behind her left ear. Neville couldn't quite work out how she got it to stay in place.

"A little. I suppose it's fair though." He grimaced. "Erm, Luna, why do you have," he gestured wordlessly at the lettuce leaf "that in your hair?"

Luna beamed at him. "It's a leaf from the fanged lettuce, it helps to repel flittersnaps."

Neville had never heard of flittersnaps, but he knew that the fanged lettuce was a real plant. He had helped Professor Sprout plant some fanged lettuce seedlings – wearing very thick gloves of course.

"Did you get the lettuce from the greenhouses?" Luna nodded and smiled. "I helped Professor Sprout plant that!" Neville smiled in return, pleased that someone was using some of the plants he helped to grow (even if he wasn't quite sure that repelling flittersnaps was a genuine use of fanged lettuce).

Luna's smile widened into a grin "Thank you Neville! It's very useful. You are quite lucky that you can't go to Hogsmeade really, I hear it's becoming overrun with flittersnaps. I'm concerned that some of the students will accidentally bring some back, they look like pixies, only they're a similar size to ants, and so they can hide in clothes or hair quite easily." She paused to catch her breath. "They're quite fascinating creatures really. They don't do you any harm, but they like to live in your ears, and so they affect people's balance. If you have a colony of flittersnaps living in your ears you're likely to fall over a lot."

Neville chuckled. "Is that why I fall over so much? I always thought I was just clumsy." Luna appeared to take this quite seriously.

"Neville! You're like a magnet for unusual magical creatures! Pink haired unipeds and flittersnaps! You're incredibly lucky." Luna seemed quite envious of Neville's apparent affinity for strange creatures.

He grinned goofily. He liked Luna. She was the weirdest person he'd ever met, but he liked it. She was funny and kind hearted, and occasionally she was unexpectedly wise. He was glad he'd helped her out on her first day of school, and he was even happier that they had become friends. They would often sit in the library together and do their homework. Luna was clever, but would often get lost in daydreams or doodling, and Neville would nudge her and bring her back to reality. He was a hard worker, but a slow worker. Luna had a knack for finding the most helpful books for his homework straight away, which prevented Neville from spending a long time looking for the right books. They had an unusual partnership, but sitting in the library with Luna, quietly working or talking about unusual plants or creatures was quickly becoming one of Neville's favourite things.

"So you see" Neville jolted back to earth when he realised Luna was still talking to him "that's why the population in Hogsmeade is growing so rapidly, and why it's probably for the best that you've stayed away today."

"Ah, ok. Will they have settled down by next year? I'm looking forward to visiting Honeydukes again."

"I hope so, I want to visit Hogsmeade too, although I'll probably still wear some fanged lettuce just to be safe…" Luna drifted off into a daydream, but whether it was about Hogsmeade or flittersnaps Neville couldn't say.

He was glad that Luna was too young to visit Hogsmeade, she had made his day much nicer and cheered him up. It was typical of Luna not to care what was happening around her, she enjoyed spending time with Neville and even if he deliberately let Sirius Black into the castle, Luna would still want to do homework in the library with him. He smiled to himself. Digging his books out of his bag, he gently elbowed Luna and they began completing their homework together.

xxx

A/N: the word "flittersnap" was dreamt up by my boyfriend, not me, so credit to him please!


	3. The Third Year

"Oh Neville, isn't it going to be wonderful?"

"What?"

"The Yule ball! The dancing, the dress robes, the food…" Luna smiled dreamily.

"I guess so. I didn't know you were looking forward to it so much." Luna frowned at Neville's words.

"Looking forward to it? Not really. I'm not allowed to go." Neville was puzzled.

"Why not?"

"I'm not old enough" Luna sighed. "I'm a third year and you need to be a fourth year or above to go. Or get asked by somebody in fourth year or above." Luna fixed Neville with an intense stare as she said this.

"Oh, well, why don't you ask somebody who's old enough to go to take you then?"

Luna seemed to pull a face at Neville's suggestion, but he wasn't sure why. He was doing his best to be helpful. He didn't see why the ball was such a big deal anyway. Uncomfortable robes, too-loud music, and an inability to dance were just a few of the things that put Neville off the Yule ball.

"I suppose I could ask somebody," Luna said mildly.

"Yeah, then you can go to the ball," Neville replied eagerly. "Do you know who you'd like to ask?" He suddenly felt very nervous, although he couldn't have explained why.

"I think so." Luna seemed reluctant to tell Neville more, which seemed odd to him.

Since they had become friends there wasn't much that they didn't tell each other – Luna had confided in Neville about losing her mother. In turn Neville had told Luna about losing his parents, although he preferred to be vague and let her think they were dead, rather than explain the awful truth. His friendship with Luna was nice and simple. He didn't want to complicate it with sympathy or pity or awkward conversations. It wasn't so bad Luna knowing his parents hadn't raised him, because she'd suffered the loss of her mother, but telling her the truth was something Neville wasn't quite ready for.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. The more time Neville spent with Luna the more time he spent daydreaming. He wondered why she didn't want to talk about the Yule ball, her uncharacteristic secrecy had piqued Neville's interest.

"Well who is it?"

"Who would I like to attend the Yule ball with?"

"Yeah." Neville nodded encouragingly.

"Why, it's you, Neville Longbottom."

Neville's cheeks turned red faster than Ron's ears do when he gets angry. Luna wanted to go to the Yule ball, with _him_! _Him_! He was taken aback, and didn't know what to say. He managed a sort of squeak, and then his cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. If Neville went to the Yule ball, he supposed he would ask Luna. She was his best friend, and she would definitely make the dull evening more interesting. He had noticed that she was a girl too, unlike Harry and Ron, who seemed oblivious to the fact that Hermione was a girl.

"Neville? Are you alright?"

"i'mfinethanks"

"Pardon?"

"I'm fine thanks" he spoke more slowly, although his cheeks remained fiery.

"Good, I was concerned you were being attacked by scarlet thermoths."

Neville's blank look prompted an explanation from Luna, but he was only half listening if he was honest.

He wondered if he ought to ask Luna to the ball. She wouldn't be able to go unless someone from his year or above accompanied her, and she clearly wanted to go. Neville had already admitted to himself that if he went he would probably have asked her, but he hadn't seriously considered how to ask her. Should he just ask her right here, or should he get her flowers, or something like that? He had recently noticed that Luna was becoming quite pretty, and if he didn't ask her soon – if he asked her – somebody else might ask her. Then he wouldn't be able to go with her, but he still wasn't sure if he wanted to go to the ball anyway. Neville groaned. It was all too confusing.

This made Luna look even more concerned, and seemed to reinforce her diagnosis of a scarlet thermoth attack. She was in the middle of suggesting that Neville walk up stairs backwards to confuse them when Neville giggled. It was a nervous giggle, and it quickly became uncontrollable, knowing it was a bad time to laugh made it worse and Neville couldn't help himself.

Luna looked hurt and angry.

"I know a lot of people laugh at me, but I thought you were nicer than they are Neville. I know you don't always believe in some of the creatures that I've discovered with my father, but that never stopped us being friends before. And if you didn't want to go to the ball with me, you should have just said so. I think I'm going to go back to Ravenclaw tower now."

Luna got up and left, while Neville's laughter died very suddenly. He wasn't laughing at Luna! He was just nervous about asking her to the ball and now she thought he had laughed at her. It was just a misunderstanding. To be truthful, he didn't always believe in some of the creatures Luna talked about, but it was part of her charm. If Luna didn't talk about weird things, he'd think there was something wrong with her.

Neville pushed his chair back and jogged to catch up with Luna.

"Luna! Wait, I – I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. I was just nervous," he began studying a spot about a foot to the left of Luna's head. "You were talking, I hadn't even decided, and I didn't want anyone else, but I wanted to do it properly."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Luna seemed puzzled, but his apology had repaired her hurt feelings.

"Go to the ball with me?" Neville squawked.

"That would be delightful," Luna smiled.

xxx

A/N: WRT me calling Neville a bad dancer – I know he dances like Mr Darcy in the films but he keeps stepping on Ginny's feet in the books, so I went with book canon over film canon.

Also, everyone writes about the actual Yule ball when they write GoF fanfic. I thought it would be fun to try something a little different. Hopefully you enjoyed it.


	4. The Fourth Year

Neville held the door for Luna and waited for her to finish talking to Ginny. It had been a great DA meeting, everyone was making so much progress and it felt good – although scary – to do something that so blatantly defied Umbridge and her ridiculous ministry approved rules. He hadn't quite managed to conjure a corporeal patronus yet, but he was getting closer.

At first he had thought of the end of his first year, the pride he had felt when his ten house points had won the cup for Gryffindor. It had been fantastic, and although he hadn't been able to see anyone's reaction due to everyone near him dive-bombing him with hugs and hand shakes, Harry had assured him Malfoy's face had been priceless.

The memory of Gryffindor's explosion of cheers, the happiness, Neville thought that would be a powerful memory, but he could only conjure up a few feeble wisps of smoke with that memory. He realised he needed something happier to think about, and cast his mind around for something happier than winning the house cup.

It took him a while to think of something but then it hit him. Luna. Neville smiled when he thought of the Yule ball. It had been a fantastic night, Luna had looked so beautiful in her dress. It had been made of some sparkly material that seemed to change colour depending on Luna's surroundings, almost like wearing a dress made of mirrors. Neville was sure it would have looked ridiculous on anyone else, but Luna looked pretty. No, she looked very pretty. She had patiently helped Neville to dance, forgiving his clumsy feet and sweaty palms. Although slightly awkward at times, the night had been fantastic.

Thinking of the Yule ball with Luna had helped Neville produce a more substantial patronus, it still wasn't corporeal, but it was improving. He narrowed his focus. Luna. Her smile. Her eyes. Her laugh. He muttered the incantation again and his patronus shone so brightly it made everyone look away. Fred conjured Neville a pair of sunglasses, only half jokingly.

Buoyed from his success, Neville had been disappointed when Harry called the meeting to an end. He was going to walk Luna back to the Ravenclaw tower, and then head back to Gryffindor. Hopefully he could practice in the dorm, _expecto patronum_ wasn't a destructive spell so it should be safe enough to cast.

Neville smiled when he saw Luna was done, and held out his elbow for her. She grinned as she slipped her arm through his, and they began to walk slowly back to the Ravenclaw Tower.

"Your patronus seemed to be doing rather well Neville," she commented.

"Thanks! I was so frustrated when the meeting ended; I wanted to carry on practicing. How's your patronus?"

Luna smiled "I managed to perform one corporeal patronus, but I was so surprised I lost my focus and it vanished!"

Neville laughed good naturedly at Luna, before he replied "It sounds like you're getting there though, you just need to keep practicing. And don't be so surprised next time, you're really good at this."

"Thank you. Maybe you need to choose a different memory, that might help you produce a corporeal patronus. What were you thinking about?"

Neville blushed, and Luna looked up at him curiously. He had realised at some point over the summer that he liked Luna as more than a friend. He was too afraid of doing anything that might ruin that friendship though, and so he hadn't said anything, or acted on his feelings. Neville hoped Luna liked him back, but the suspense of not knowing was better than the defeat of finding out that she didn't.

He realised he had been silent for too long, and he couldn't think of a lie quickly enough.

"The Yule ball, actually. I was thinking about dancing with you." He cautiously met Luna's eyes, and found they shone with happiness.

"Funny you should have been thinking about that, I was thinking about the Yule ball too."

Neville's jaw dropped in shock.

"You were? I'm, but that's, you-" Luna took no notice of his spluttering, and chose to comment instead on the fact that they were back at the Ravenclaw tower. Neville was grateful, he wanted to leave as quickly as possible, he needed some time to compose himself, and think about what Luna had said.

"Well, goodnight then." He let her arm fall from his and turned to embrace Luna in their customary hug.

"Night night, don't let the humming pillowbugs bite!" Luna sung, as Neville's arms wrapped around her body and held her tightly, but all too briefly. He withdrew his arms quickly, and looked awkwardly at Luna.

"See you tomor-" his words were cut off as Luna darted forwards and grabbed his wrists. She leant up and placed a kiss in the no-mans land between the corner of his mouth and his cheek.

Neville looked at Luna, hope blooming in his chest. He adjusted her grip so they held hands, and carefully, clumsily kissed Luna. It was sweet, and he didn't linger for too long. He hoped that it conveyed how he felt about her, and said what he was too frightened to say.

Still holding hands they looked wide-eyed at each other, a heavy silence between them. After a second that felt like much, much longer Luna took a step closer to Neville, and he embraced her again. Their lips met in a soft and gentle kiss, and Neville's mind went pleasantly blank. All he could think about was the way Luna tasted, how warm her lips seemed against his, and how delicate her slender body felt in his arms.

Their kiss grew slowly in confidence, and Neville unconsciously held Luna closer to him as her arms circled his torso. When they broke apart, they were both breathless from their chaste yet heartfelt kiss.

"There, maybe that memory will help you cast a proper patronus," Luna breathed softly.

Neville had a strong feeling that he would indeed produce a corporeal patronus tonight, armed with this new memory.


	5. The Fifth Year

Neville lay back in the grass by the lake, smiling to himself. The April sun was warm, bordering on hot, he had finished most of his homework, and Luna was lying with him, the top of her head resting against the top of his. It was an unconventional way to lie with your girlfriend, Neville realised, but then nothing about Luna would ever be conventional.

She had been given to more thoughtful, introspective silences since the events at the Ministry last summer. The Wizarding world had become a grim, fearful yet determined place since everyone had been forced to acknowledge Voldemort's return. The atmosphere of constant fear and uncertainty affected even usually cheerful Luna. Neville too found himself considering the future in a bleak, helpless sort of way. It intruded, crept in without you realising. One minute Neville would be listening in class, or talking to Luna, and then he would suddenly be thinking about Voldemort or his Death Eaters.

Even the bright April sun, and the thought of an afternoon with Luna could only chase away the worry and dread for so long. It was like a constant background murmur. Neville wished the DA were still meeting this year, at least that had been an outlet for his feelings, and a chance to feel prepared, ready for the next battle, rather than apprehensive.

Neville realised Luna had been quiet for a while, and as he opened his mouth to ask if she was ok, he heard her speak.

"Do you think we'll die?"

Not expecting this, Neville was only able to answer with "Err…"

"Fighting Voldemort, I mean." Luna explained. "Not that I would really mind so much, you know, I'm not scared of death, but there are so many things I want to do first."

Neville stretched his arm out at shoulder height, and found Luna's hand. He held it tightly before he answered.

"I don't know" he said honestly, "but now that everyone knows he's back, there will be more people fighting on our side, so hopefully it will all be over quicker, with fewer casualties."

He squeezed her hand, knowing it was small comfort he offered.

"Thank you Neville. I hope you're right. I'm rather tired of feeling worried about it all." There wasn't really much to say to that.

"What do you want to do before you die?" Neville asked curiously, hoping Luna wouldn't mind him changing the subject.

"Oh, I don't know" she said dreamily, "identify some new magical creatures, ones that nobody else has found before. Or maybe write a book, so people can learn about all the creatures that got left out of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_."

Neville thought about this. He liked Luna's plans for the future. They suited her. His Gran had very definite plans for the rest of his life, and while he didn't want to pursue a career in Magical Law Enforcement, he wasn't sure what he did want to do either.

He was quite lost in thought when Luna raised their joined hands and pointed at a cloud.

"Ooh, that looks just like a Dimikean drifter!"

Neville squinted against the sun, trying to make out the cloud she had pointed at. It looked unremarkable, except that it was a particularly fluffy cloud.

"Does it?" he asked timidly.

"Why yes, Neville. Haven't you read the article about them in the latest edition of the Quibbler?" Luna sounded curious and surprised.

Neville winced apologetically, even though Luna couldn't see his face. He hadn't read it yet, finishing his homework had been his priority.

"Erm, not yet sorry, I haven't got to that article yet."

Luna took a deep breath.

"Well, they look similar to clouds, but they drift along much higher up. They can't control their movement, so they are entirely dependent on the wind. Instead of raining water, if you're very lucky – Daddy said this only happens every fifty years or so – one of them will rain diamonds on you."

There was a quiet pause while Neville digested this news. He didn't think diamonds raining down on someone from so high up was lucky – he thought it would most likely be very painful, and possibly lethal.

"Of course, it doesn't hurt when the diamonds fall on you, the magical properties of the drifters means the diamonds fall gently."

Neville made a small noise of polite interest. It unnerved him sometimes how Luna seemed to read his mind. "Do you think it'll rain on us?" he asked hopefully.

Luna released his hand and scrambled to her hands and knees. She moved forwards so that she was looking directly down at Neville, who had a peculiar view of her upside-down face, surrounded by a halo of sunlight, percolating through her wispy hair. Luna looked even more ethereal than usual. She was beaming excitedly and Neville was suddenly struck all over again by her beauty.

"Ooh wouldn't that be wonderful!" She exclaimed "Being rained on by a Dimikean drifter is such brilliant luck. I really love that about you, you know Neville."

"Love what?" he asked, mildly puzzled and blushing slightly. They had been skirting around declarations involving the L-word for a while, neither of them coming out and saying how really they felt.

"Your optimism" she explained, emphasising her point by leaning down and kissing his nose.

Neville grinned. He took a deep breath, reaching up a hand to stroke Luna's still upside-down cheek while he steeled his nerves. Now was as good a time as any.

"I really love all of you Luna" was his sincere reply. Luna's smile was serene as she replied.

"I know. I love you too Neville Longbottom."

xxxxx

A/N: sorry for the massive delay on this. I don't really have a decent excuse, and I'm not thrilled with this chapter, but it's something?

For anyone who's interested (though I doubt it) Dimikean is a mangled anagram of Midkemia, the world the Riftwar Cycle is mainly set in (my current obsession). I'm 25 books down, 5 to go, and already dreading the existential crisis I will have when I finish the last one! (so any reading recommendations will be welcome if you chose to review)


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